A New Beginning
by Rachel Evans
Summary: An early 21st century girl is somehow sent from her time to Captain Janeway's time after trying to commit suicide. PG13 for suicide content.
1. Prologue

Notes: Hey! I have yet another Star Trek story. There's no Star Trek in this chapter, but there  
will be in the next one. I promise. ^_^ Please R/R to let me know what you think. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: This disclaimer applies to the whole story. I don't own Star Trek: Voyager. It is a  
copyright of Paramount Pictures.  
  
  
  
The young girl softly cried as she swallowed the 246'th pill. She was attempting to end her   
short, young life by overdosing on pain killers.  
  
'... 247...' she counted in her head, '... 248... 249... one more.' she thought. 'One more and I   
will be free of this suffering.' She had decided that 250 pills would be enough. Each pill had   
200 milligrams in them, so she decided to take 5000 milligrams. That would be enough to kill   
her, wouldn't it? Using pain killers also seemed the best thing to do. She never liked pain   
so she wouldn't slit her wrists, and she was using these pain killers to end her pain, wasn't   
she?  
  
As she lay the last pill, number 250, and let it slide down her throat, she began to have second   
thoughts.  
  
"Wait a minute, I don't really want to die." she shouted. But no one heard. She tried to get   
up, but she was too weak. She tried to make herself vomit, but she couldn't. She never really   
liked to throw up either.  
  
She tried again to get up, but her body's response was the same as the last time she tried. Thud.  
  
Throughout her whole life, she always felt like she was alone. But now, she felt more alone then   
ever.  
  
Her family was gone. That's why she chose this time to do it, so no one could save her.  
  
Finally, she gave up. Her attempts to save her life were futile. Slowly, she lay her body on   
the floor, closed her eyes, and waited to die, tears streaming down her face.  
  
  
Notes: So, what'd you think? I know, I'm not very good with writing suicide things, but it was   
what I was feeling when I wrote it. Flames are welcome. I don't think anything can make my self   
esteem any lower than it already is. Please review. It will be greatly appreciated. 


	2. Chapter One

Notes: I know it's short, but I wanted to post, so be happy. ^_^  
  
  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in the Mess Hall, eating her, what Neelix calls, food. She was   
reading a PADD when the stout Talaxian approached her.  
  
"Are you enjoying your meal, Captain?" he asked as he sat down in the empty chair across from her.  
  
The woman set the PADD down on the table and took a sip of her coffee. "It's delicious." she   
said, although she really didn't like it all that much.  
  
"That's good." He replied. There was a pause before he spoke again.  
  
"Captain," he started.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Neelix." She asked. She knew he wanted something.  
  
"The supplies for the Mess Hall seem to be running low. I was wondering if we'd be able to stop   
sometime soon and get some more."  
  
"That would be fine." she said with a smile. She tapped her comm. badge, "Janeway to the bridge."  
  
"Chakotay here."  
  
"Commander, lay in a course for the nearest m-class planet. We're running out of veggies down   
here."  
  
"Aye, Captain. Chakotay out."  
  
"Thank you, Captain." Neelix said as he stood and went back to work.  
  
Kathryn smiled and went back to reading her PADD.  
  
A few minutes later, she had finished reading her PADD and eating her dinner. Yawning, she   
stood up and made her way to the bridge.  
  
When she stepped off the turbo lift and made her way to the Captains Chair, she asked her First   
Officer what the status was.  
  
"We found an uninhabited m-class planet not far from here in the Clavarie system." Chakotay told   
her. "We should be arriving there in about two hours."  
  
"Good." she said and tapped her comm. badge, "Mr. Neelix,"  
  
"Yes, Captain?"  
  
"You'd better get an away team ready fast. We'll be arriving at the planet in about two hours."  
  
"Thank you, Captain. I'll get right on it. Neelix out."  
  
  
two hours later  
  
  
When they neared the planet, Neelix and his away team were in the Transporter Room, ready to beam   
down to the surface.  
  
There were four people who would be accompanying the Talaxian. Lieutenant Tom Paris, in case   
there were any problems medically. Tuvok and another security officer were also there, just in   
case they were needed and Seven of Nine knew a little bit about Delta Quadrant vegetation, so   
she was also coming along.  
  
Captain Janeway was there too, but only to see them off.  
  
"Whenever you're ready, Mr. Neelix." She said.  
  
In response, the away team stepped onto the transporter pad and in a few minutes the computer   
console in front of them was replaced by lots of green vegetation.  
  
Everyone simultaneously took out their tricorters and began scanning the area, even though Neelix   
and Seven were the only ones who knew what to look for.  
  
"Over there." Neelix said, pointing toward the mountain in the north. "There's some Nevaline   
fruit growing by the mountain."  
  
In response, everyone followed him toward the mountain.  
  
"Pick all the fruit you can find, even if it's not ripe." he said once they got to the fruit. He   
didn't need to show them what it looked like, because they could all see it. It seemed that if   
the Nevaline plants weren't growing there, there would be a field at least 3 kilometers long.  
  
"Are you sure this stuff is eatable?" Tom asked, holding up the precarious-looking fruit as he   
scanned it with his tricorter. It was an ugly shade of green, the kind some people call puke-green.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Paris. It's defiantly eatable. In fact, I survived 3 months on only Nevaline fruit   
when I got stranded on this planet eight years ago..."  
  
"Lieutenant!" Seven called to Tom.  
  
"What is it?" he asked as he made his way in her direction. She didn't answer him, just let him   
see for himself.  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
  
Notes: I know it's short, but I wanted to post, and this was a perfect place to end it. Sorry to   
everyone who would like more. I'll hopefully post more tomorrow, although I'm not making any   
promises. Review and it might urge me to type some more up. I have lots in a notebook, just   
waiting to be typed up. ^_^ 


	3. Chapter Two

Notes: Here's some more! Enjoy!  
  
  
  
After a couple of hours of working on the girl, the Doctor went into his office to begin a m  
edical file for her and record what he had done.  
  
As soon as he sat down, Captain Janeway came into his office.  
  
"How is she doing?" she asked.  
  
"As well as can be expected for an attempted suicide."  
  
"Suicide? What happened?"  
  
"I found an enormous amount of ibuprofen in her blood stream and a little more in her stomach   
still. Apparently she tried to kill herself by overdosing on it, although I'm surprised she used   
that specific medication. I'm not even sure how she got it. I doubt a normal replicator could   
produce such an old medication."  
  
"What's ibuprofen?" the Captain asked, a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"It's an early 21st century pain killer, used to relieve aches, pains, and reduce fevers."  
  
"But how did she get here? She looks human."  
  
"And she is, but I'm not sure how she got here. And it appears that she couldn't have tried to   
kill herself more than an hour and a half ago. How could she have done that on the surface of   
that planet and there not be any evidence of what she did?" the Doctor said.  
  
"I'll send some people down there to investigate." the captain said and tapped her comm. badge.   
"Janeway to Seven of Nine."  
  
"Yes, Captain?" came the drones voice.  
  
"Seven, I'd like you to assemble an away team to go down to the surface and search for anything   
that doesn't belong there. The Doctor and I can't figure out how this girl got there. Go   
whenever you're ready."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Seven said, and ended the conversation.  
  
Kathryn spoke to the doctor again, "How long do you think it will take before she wakes up?"  
  
"I'm not sure. She could wake up in a few hours, or a few days. I don't think we should try and   
wake her up either. Let her body do it in it's own time. I'll be monitoring her constantly, and   
if anything changes, I'll let you know."  
  
"Thank you, Doctor. Now, I'd better get back to the Bridge.  
  
  
4 hours later  
  
  
"Sickbay to Captain Janeway." came the Chief Medical Officers voice over the intercom.  
  
"What is it, Doctor?" Captain Janeway said from her chair on the Bridge.  
  
"I think you'd better come down here. She's awake."  
  
"I'm on my way. Janeway out."  
  
She quickly stood up and turned to Chakotay. "You have the Bridge." she told him and got onto   
the turbolift.  
  
  
When the Captain got to Sickbay, she saw Tom at the console near the surgical bay and The Doctor   
in the surgical bay, trying to coax the new girl out of the corner. Janeway could see fear all   
over the girls face.  
  
"Please, come over to the bed. I want to help you." The Doctor told her, but she still wouldn't   
move.  
  
"What's going on, Doctor?" The Captain asked as she stepped up to the force field.  
  
"Apparently, when she woke up, she didn't like where she was. She tried to get away, but I had   
the force field up. That frightened her and she went to the corner, and I haven't been able to   
get her out."  
  
"I see. Does she know where she is?"  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Maybe I could try. I'll explain to her about where she is and what happened."  
  
"Good luck." he said. "Computer, deactivate force field."  
  
In response, the force field flickered off and Captain Janeway entered the surgical bay. Slowly,   
she walked towards the girl, speaking to her as she did. "Hello, my name is Kathryn Janeway.   
What's yours?"  
  
The sobbing child looked up, here face red from crying. "Noel." she whispered.  
  
"Noel, that's a pretty name." Now Captain Janeway was right in front of Noel, so she sat down   
next to the girl. "Do you know where you are, Noel?" The girls head shook. "You're on the   
Federation Starship, Voyager."  
  
'Starship?' Noel thought, 'I must be either dreaming or I'm dead. I guess I'll just play along   
though.'  
  
"Do you know what happened to you?"  
  
Noel nodded.  
  
"Do you know how you got to that planet?"  
  
"What planet? The only planet I've ever been on is earth."  
  
"Did someone kidnap you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What's the last thing you remember happening before you woke up here?"  
  
'Should I tell them? They probably know already. But then they're going to want me to talk   
about it and I don't want to, not even in my dreams.' she thought.  
  
"I don't know. It's all blurry." she said, but she really did remember.  
  
"Your blood says that you took an enormous amount of Ibuprofen, enough to kill you." The Doctor   
said, stepping up to the girl. "Where did you get it?"  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, playing stupid.  
  
"You tried to commit suicide, didn't you? We can help you, if you'll let us."  
  
"No. I didn't try to kill myself. Please, just leave me alone." she said, curling back up into   
the ball that she had been in earlier. She began talking to herself as she rocked her body back   
and forth. "Please, wake up. I don't like this dream. Wake up, wake up..."  
  
Kathryn looked at the doctor, giving him a puzzled look. Then she turned back to Noel.  
  
"Noel, you're not dreaming."  
  
  
  
Notes: What'd you think? If you want me to keep posting, review, okay? 


	4. Chapter Three

Notes: Hey everybody! Just so you know, it may take longer to post now. I've run out of what I   
had in my notebook, so please be patient. ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews! ^_^ I liked some of   
the ideas you guys gave me, and if I use them, I'll give you credit, okay? ^_^  
  
  
  
Tears streamed down her face as the woman explained what had happened to Noel. 'This can't be   
happening.' she thought. 'They're wrong. They're just trying to get me to sleep longer so they   
can exist longer. Yeah. That's it. Everything is going to be fine. I'll wake up, and   
everything will be back to normal. Maybe I didn't even try to kill myself. Maybe that incident   
didn't happen either. Maybe those were part of the dream too. I hope so. This dream seems   
interesting though. I think I'll try it, see if I like it. If I sleep to late, mom will wake me   
up.' she stopped crying.  
  
"We're just wondering how you got to that planet in the first place... with 21st century pain   
killers too." Kathryn said.  
  
"I forgot. But that doesn't really matter now, does it?"  
  
"Well, we'd like to get you home, and, if at all possible, find a way home ourselves."  
  
"Don't you live on this ship?"  
  
"Yes, but we'd like to visit our families on Earth. You see, we're in the Delta Quadrant."  
  
"The Delta whatchit?  
  
The captain looked puzzled. "The Delta Quadrant. We got stranded here four years ago and we're   
trying to get back to the Alpha Quadrant."  
  
'Wow, this is a very interesting dream. I'd like to see what happens next!'  
  
"Oh! Quadrant! I thought you said something else. Sorry."  
  
"That's quite alright."  
  
"Captain, I hate to break up this conversation, but I must examine Noel and then she needs to   
rest." the doctor said.  
  
"Alright. I'll come see you later, okay Noel?"  
  
Noel's face paled.  
  
"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked.  
  
Noel seemed nervous. "C-can I get a different doctor? It's nothing against you, it's just, I'm   
not very comfortable with male doctors."  
  
"I'm sorry, but there is no other doctor on the ship. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."  
  
A tear ran down face. 'It'll be fine. It's only a dream.' she told herself.  
  
"Don't worry, Noel. The Doctor is a great doctor. You'll be fine." The captain told her.  
  
Noel nodded and stood up, her face still very pale. 'I can do this.' she thought. 'It's only a   
dream. This isn't real.'  
  
"I should go now. I'll see you later, Noel." Janeway said and left, leaving The Doctor, Tom and   
Noel in Sickbay.  
  
"Mr. Paris, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I can handle this by myself." the doctor told   
Tom.  
  
"Alright. I'll be in my quarters if you need me." Tom said, and left.  
  
The whole time Tom was there, he was folding the girls clothes. Once they stabilized Noel, they   
put one of the blue gowns on her. He took her clothes with him.  
  
"Now, Miss..." he began, trying to remember if she told them her last name.  
  
"Manning." she said. "My last name is Manning."  
  
"Ah. Miss Manning. If you'll lay here, I can proceed with the examination." he said, pointing   
to the biobed.  
  
Cautiously, she climbed onto the biobed and lay down. Even though she kept telling herself that   
this was a dream, she was still nervous. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see what he was   
going to do.  
  
"Don't worry. This wont hurt at all." he said.  
  
Memories flooded her mind. She saw someone jogging in the woods through her minds eye. It was   
dark, it must have been late at night. The person was a woman who was wearing black leggings, a   
white long-sleeved t-shirt, with a red hoodie over it. She had dirty blond, curly hair, that was   
put up in a pony tail. She had headphones over her ears and a walkman hooked to the waist band   
on her pants.  
  
Everything appeared normal, until someone ran up to the girl. It was a man, and it looked like   
he was another jogger, jogging next to her. He started to talk to her, but she ignored it. She   
looked nervous, like maybe she didn't know him. Suddenly, she stopped, turned the other way, and   
sprinted off. The man also turned, and chased after her. He was too fast, and he soon caught up   
to her and grabbed her arm. She screamed, but no one could hear her. They both stopped running   
and he was pulling her off the trail and into the woods. She just kept screaming for help, but   
no one came. She was trying to kick the guy, so he slapped her face. When she didn't stop, he   
punched her in the stomach.  
  
"NO!!!" Noel screamed, sitting up on the biobed.  
  
"What's wrong?" the doctor asked.  
  
Noel looked around, gasping for breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the doctor waving   
something around her body and looking at some rectangular thing in his hand.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
'I'm still dreaming. That was part of the dream. I'm still not awake. Thank God!' she thought.   
"I'm fine." she told him, and lay her body back down so he could finish.  
  
"Are you sure? Your blood pressure is extremely high and you're panting. Are you sure you're   
alright?"  
  
"Yes! I'm fine! Now finish up!" she yelled.  
  
"I'm done." he said  
  
"Fine then. I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep." she said as she rolled onto her side and   
closed her eyes. She didn't plan to go to sleep though. She was afraid she'd have that double   
dream again.  
  
The Doctor put away his tricorter and went into his office.  
  
As soon as she heard him sit down in his office, she let the tears that were struggling to come   
out, flow like a river. She didn't make a sound though, just let the tears come out.  
  
  
Notes: What'd you think? Sad, huh? Review and let me know! ^_^ 


	5. Chapter Four

Notes: Here's some more. It's not long, like some people requested,   
but it's this or nothing for awhile. I'm not sure how much I'll be   
able to in the weeks to come, since I'm busy with school, baby-sitting,  
and stuff like that. But I will try to write more. And I plan on  
writing more to Visions Of The Future and Shattered Innocence, hopefully  
soon. Anyway, please read and review! ^_^  
  
  
  
  
  
After what seemed like hours, Noel sat up on the bed, her face red and her eyes puffy from crying.   
She hadn't slept at all, which was her plan, since she didn't want to have another dream like   
that again. She just wanted that annoying doctor to leave her alone. She was afraid he would   
ask her about the medicine, and she really didn't feel like talking about that. She was hoping   
that she would wake up before he got a chance to ask her.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him coming out of his office. Quickly, she tried to   
wipe away any evidence of her sorrow away with the back of her hand.  
  
"I see you've awakened. Do you feel up to talking?" he asked.  
  
"That depends. What do you want to talk about?"  
  
"Well, we could start with why you were crying."  
  
"I wasn't crying." she said, attempting to wipe away the tears that my still be on her face.  
  
"Your face is red and puffy, and most likely sticky from the salt in your tears. Now, do you   
want to talk about that, or something else, like why you tried to kill yourself?"  
  
"I don't feel like talking about anything. And besides, if I were going to talk to someone about   
this, shouldn't I be talking to a Shrink?"  
  
"I'm afraid that I'm the closest thing on this ship to a "Shrink", as you call it."  
  
"Great." she said sarcastically.  
  
  
  
Tom took the clothes that he took from Sickbay, and spread them out on his and B'Elanna's bed,   
trying to figure out why they seemed so familiar to him. There was a pair of dark, nearly black,   
blue jeans that flared at the bottom, a black 3/4 sleeved t-shirt that tied at the chest and arms   
in black leather, 3 inch high-heeled boots that came up to her knees, and a black net sweater   
that was as long as a trench-coat. He set them up to look like some one was wearing them, but   
then disappeared, leaving their clothes behind.  
  
The sweater went on the bed first, then the pants, then the shirt, and the shoes he just put on   
the floor in front of the outfit.  
  
"These clothes are from the 21st century." he said to no one in particular.  
  
  
  
  
Captain Janeway sat at her desk in her ready room, looking at the computer with a mug of coffee   
in her right hand. Suddenly, the door chime rang. Without looking up from the computer, she   
called for whoever was out there to come in.  
  
The door swished open, revealing the First Officer, Chakotay.  
  
"You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asked.  
  
"Yes. I need to talk to you about something. Tom told me that he believes that Noel is from the   
past."  
  
"What makes him think that?"  
  
"Well, first of all, her system was filled with 21st century pain killers, and secondly, she was   
wearing 21st century clothes. Also, when The Doctor asked her about the medicine, she denied it,   
and started talking to herself, telling herself to wake up. That she didn't like this dream."  
  
"Have you asked her about it yet?"  
  
"No, not yet. I'll be going to see her soon though. But I thought I'd talk to you first. Tom   
said that he hasn't talked to The Doctor yet. He said he'd leave that to me.   
  
"Anyway, I'd like you to take a team down to the surface and scan for anything that could have   
brought her here."  
  
"Alright. Is there anything else that I can do?"  
  
"That's all, for now. Let me know what you find."  
  
"Aye, Captain." he said, and left.  
  
  
  
"I don't feel like talking about anything. I'm not suicidal, and I wasn't crying." she said,   
climbing off the biobed. "Where's the bathroom? I need to pee."  
  
"Through that door." he told her, pointing to the bathroom door.  
  
Just as the bathroom door was closing, the door that led to the rest of the ship was opening.   
The Captain was coming through, and came right to the doctor.  
  
"How is she, Doctor?" she asked, concern etched on her face.  
  
"Physically, she's fine. But mentally and emotionally, is a whole separate thing in itself.   
Captain, I know we can't request that Starfleet send us a Psychiatrist, but I think that in this   
case, I am under-qualified. I'm not trained for this kind of work."  
  
"I understand, Doctor. I know that you're doing your best and thank you for trying. I need to   
tell you something though. Can we go into your office?"  
  
"Oh course." he said, and they both walked over to his office.  
  
"Tom says that he believes that Noel is from the past. Her clothes are common with what they   
wore in the early 21st century, and since it was 21st century medicine that you found in her   
system, I think he's right." Janeway explained.  
  
"That would explain why she thinks that this is a dream. After all, the furthest they had gotten   
in space in the early 21st century, was to the moon." The Doctor stated.  
  
"Exactly. Now, where is she? I'd like to talk to her."  
  
"She's in the bathroom. She should be out in a few minutes though."  
  
"Alright. I'll wait then."  
  
  
  
In the bathroom, the dirty-blond haired girl sat on the floor, tears streaming from her eyes.   
"God, please let me wake up. Please let me wake up and find that none of that happened. Please!"   
she prayed.  
  
She closed her eyes, and began banging her head against the wall, hoping to wake herself up.   
Eventually, she started hitting so hard, that she knocked herself out.  
  
  
  
"I'm getting worried. She should have been out by now." The Doctor said.  
  
"Do you want me to go in and check on her?" Captain Janeway asked.  
  
"If you don't mind." the hologram said.  
  
"Not at all." she said, and stepped up to the bathroom door. She rang the chime, and called to   
Noel. "Noel, this is Kathryn. Would you be able to come out? I need to talk to you."  
  
No response.  
  
"Noel, it's very important."  
  
Still no response.  
  
Kathryn cautiously opened the door and stepped in. What she saw shocked her.  
  
"Doctor, I need you in here!" she called as she made her way toward Noel, trying to avoid stepping   
in the blood that was on the floor.  
  
"What's wrong?" the Doctor said, as he stepped into the bathroom. But Captain Janeway didn't   
need to say anything. Immediately, The Doctor left and came back with a tricorter in his hand.  
  
He quickly scanned her.  
  
"Where's she bleeding from?" Janeway asked.  
  
"Apparently, the back of her head. Help me get her to the surgical bay. I need to stop the   
bleeding.  
  
"Alright." Janeway said, grabbing Noel's arms as The Doctor grabbed her legs and they carried her   
out.  
  
  
  
Notes: I know that some of you wanted it longer, but then that would mean that you have to wait   
longer. Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. ^_^ I don't mind   
flames. But, if there is a problem with this, let me know what it is so I can fix it, instead   
of just using "Colorful Metaphors", as Spock and Captain Kirk call them. Thanks for reading   
this! ^_^ 


	6. Chapter Five

Notes: Hey! Sorry it's taken so long to get this out. I haven't been doing very much writing lately, at least in the way of fan fiction. I've got a lot of recent poetry at fiction press, if you'd like to see it.

Anyway, I wont keep you waiting. Read on! (And review when you're done!)

Chakotay, Tom, and Harry had searched the planet diligently but couldn't find anything that could possible cause time travel. They beamed back to the ship and the commander went to the captain's ready room with a report.

Kathryn sighed heavily after Chakotay left the room. This was not what she wanted to hear. This poor girl was stuck here and they couldn't help her get home. She knew that she had to explain to Noel what was happening, but she didn't know how. At least she had a few more hours to contemplate how she would say it. She was in surgery at the moment.

She leaned forward in her chair and concentrated on what she would say. This wouldn't be easy. She began to silently recite to herself what she was going to say when she suddenly heard and all-too-familiar voice.

"It's a shame that there are so many teen suicides these days."

She looked up angrily. "Q!" she said, "Why did you do this?"

"What do you mean? Why did I save that poor little girls life? I don't know, really. It just came over me to help her, and who better to help than you?" He replied as he walked over to her desk. Janeway stood up.

"How can this be helping her? Do you realize what kind of psychological trauma can occur from this kind of change in her life? If you wanted to save her life, why not send her to a hospital near her home?"

"What home?"

"The one that she grew up with. You know, her mom, dad, maybe even brothers and sisters? She belongs with them, not me."

"I shouldn't tell you this, but when she took the pills her parents were in a terrible automobile accident and died. She had no brothers and sisters. Her grandparents were all dead and her mother was an only child. Her father had one sister, unmarried, who was dying a severe cancer and wouldn't live for another 2 months. What can I say? I felt sorry for the girl."

Kathryn meant to speak, but there was nothing she could say. She knew Q well enough to know that he wouldn't lie about this. From what she could see there was nothing that he could benefit from saving this girls life. Either there was more to this story, or he had one lonely compassionate bone in his body that finally made itself known.

The woman sat down in surrender. "What do you want me to do for her?"

"Make her better. When she is completely healed of all her psychological issues I will send her back to start her life over again."

"Why not keep her here. It will take a long time to get her to where you want her, especially after I tell her about her parents. She'll be used to this time by then. Why send her back if she has nothing left there?"

"Oh, there's one thing still there that is waiting for her return." Q said.

"What?"

"I've told you far too much, now I must be going. Tootles!" He snapped his fingers and in a flash of light, was gone.

Kathryn was left by herself, unsure of how to explain this one to anybody.

Several hours after the surgery was over, Noel finally woke up. She had had another nightmare about that night and hoped that nobody heard her screaming.

As she opened her eyes she saw a figure walking over to her. No, wait, it was two figures. Or was it three? She couldn't tell. Her vision was blurry and all she could really see were swirls of black, blue, and red, moving closer and closer to her. The red stopped moving and the blue moved to the other side of her. The black split in half and stayed with the two colors.

She heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She saw something moving over her face and the rest of her body, which was all blue, and became very confused. 'This must be another dream. I didn't really wake up. This is a least a little better than the last one. No one is hurting me.'

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but then she suddenly felt a strange sensation in her neck. The voices became more audible, but she refused to open her eyes. She didn't want to see who was talking. She feared that they were maybe some strange concoction that her mind created. She decided to listen to what they were saying.

"But, aside from a concussion and a severe headache, she should be fine." a male voice said. It sounded strangely familiar, but she couldn't place it with a face.

"Good. Do you think she'll be up to talking to me any time soon?" a female voice asked. This voice was familiar too, but she had even more trouble placing it with a face. She liked this voice better though. It belonged to a woman. She didn't like men at all.

She went back to listening.

"I'll come by in a couple hours, when she's more alert." the female voice said.

'Oh no!' Noel thought, 'Don't leave me with him! Please!' She heard a swish and everything was silent except for the humming of the man.

Noel began to panic. 'What if he tries to do something to me? God, don't let him touch me.'

She began to moan and heard the man speak.

"Noel, Noel." he was calling her name. 'Don't respond. Ignore him.' She stopped moaning, but when she felt his hand on her shoulder, she couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Please, don't hurt me!" she pleaded as she turned over into a fetal position, still refusing to open her eyes. She began to sob uncontrollably. 'This dream is just as bad as the last one.' she thought.

"I have no intention of hurting you, Noel. I'm here to help you."

Noel didn't hear him through her own sobs and started to rock back and forth. "Wake... up..." she repeated to herself. "Wake... up..."

Suddenly, she felt another hand on her shoulder, a smaller hand. She was surprised and let out a little gasp in between sobs. She heard a soothing voice saying, "Shhh... everything is going to be alright." It was the woman. She came back. Had it been two hours already? She wasn't sure. She knew now, though, that with the woman there, she felt safe. She wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

Noel relaxed her body, still refusing to open her eyes. Her sobs died down to soft whimpers and she stopped shaking. She now felt the energy she used for crying leave her body and became very sleepy. Reluctantly, she gave into the darkness that wanted to take over.

Notes: So, what did you think? Tell me in a review! Sorry it was so short and again, I'm sorry that this took so long to get out.


	7. Chapter Six

Notes: Hey, it's been almost a year since my last update! I guess it's about time I got this chapter out. Enjoy and please review when you're finished.

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Noel began to wake up yet again. She'd had a strange dream, but couldn't remember it. It was unusual, but not scarily vivid like her normal dreams. She saw faces in this dream that she didn't recognize, and wondered what the dream was about.

She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself in her bedroom, in her own bed, the sun pouring through her open window, a cool breeze blowing her soft blonde hair. But that was not the sight she saw. There were bright lights all around her and she was on a bed that seemed more like a hospital bed than a real bed. She remembered what she thought had been a dream, but now she was unsure. She had a headache and when she tried to sit up a rush of dizziness came over her, but she refused to lay down again. 0When she had gotten over the initial dizziness she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, still a little tipsy.

After a few minutes she was able to walk, though only very slowly. She held onto a wall as she did so and when she turned the corner she saw someone sitting in what looked like an office. It was a man wearing a black suit with a blue stripe across the top and a balding head. He was talking to someone else, another man, who was sitting across from him. This man was wearing a similar uniform but black and red. He looked a lot younger with blonde hair.

The two men suddenly noticed her and both jumped up and came over.

"Hi, Noel." the older man said as he took her arm to help steady her. "How are you feeling?"

Noel tried to ignore the fact that he was touching her, reminding herself that he was just helping. "A little dizzy." she said as she surrendered her weight to him. The other man came and took her other arm and they helped her back to the bed she had been sleeping in.

"You should stay in bed for now," the bald man said as he picked up a strange object and waved it in front of her.

"What is that?" she asked him, a little unsure.

"This is a tricorter." he said and turned to the blonde man. "Get me 20 mg of Benepramaline, and let Captain Janeway know she's awake." The younger man nodded and left. The older man, clearly the doctor, turned his attention back to his patient's question. "I use this to scan the inside of your body. It's quicker and less invasive that some of the methods doctors in your time use."

"Time?" she asked, confused. She thought that everything here looked a little futuristic, but she didn't think that she was in a different time period. She remembered them telling her this but she thought that she must have heard wrong or was dreaming. How could she have traveled through time?

The doctor's arms fell to his side and his voice became less cheery than it had been. "Noel, after you took those pills, for some reason, you were taken to the future."

"The future?" she was getting more and more confused. Could this really be a dream? Time travel is a ridiculous explanation because it was impossible. "What year is it?"

The doctor seemed hesitant, but responded. "The year is 2376." he told her. Noel's jaw dropped. "You're on board the Federation Starship Voyager."

Just then the younger man came in with another strange object in his hand and gave it to the doctor.

"Noel," the physician said softly, "Noel, are you alright?"

"I-I-I…" she couldn't find the words to explain what she was feeling at that moment. If she were in another time how would she get back home? "I don't know," she said, her voice beginning to shake a little.

"You told her?" the younger man asked. The doctor nodded and the aforesaid man put his hand on her shoulder, not noticing her flinch as he did so.

The Doctor put his hand on her other shoulder and said, "I'm going to give you some medication that should help with the dizziness." He proceeded to press the strange object to her neck and she didn't seem to notice. He saw through the corner of his eye a woman walk into the larger room and excused himself.

"It's alright, Noel," the blonde man told her in a soothing voice, "We'll try and figure this out." He attempted to look into her eyes, but it was clear she was avoiding eye contact with him.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…' she told herself over and over again. 'You can't cry. Change the subject. Think of something!' she screamed at herself inside her mind. Then, she thought of something that could change the subject for at least a minute or so. She finally looked at the man wearing the red. "You know, I still don't know your names." she was attempting to sound cheery, but didn't do a very good job of it. Okay, so it wasn't very creative, but at least it turned the attention to them.

"Oh," the blonde said, a little alarmed by what she said. "I'm Tom Paris, and that is our holographic doctor who has no name. We just call him Doctor." he said and smiled at her. She looked confused.

"Holographic doctor?" she asked very perplexed. "Is that like a hologram or something?"

"Yes." Tom said, relieved that he didn't have to explain it too much. "He's an interactive hologram with a personality and loads of information. He's the best doctor anyone could get, save for his cold bedside manner."

"And why doesn't he have a name?" she asked, ignoring the last comment.

"He can't decide on one." Tom said with a slight chuckle.

There was a strange silence, but not awkward. Neither Tom nor Noel knew what to say. Finally, Noel spoke.

"What's going to happen to me?"

Tom sighed. He knew this question would come, but he'd hoped that she would ask either The Doctor or Captain Janeway. But, she asked him, so he had to answer her, though he didn't know exactly what was going to happen either.

"Well," he started, "First we need to get you to a point where you don't need to stay in here." He waved his arm to show that he meant Sickbay. "That will be up to The Doctor. After that, you'll probably have to go to some kind of counseling, although we don't have a Ship's Counselor. I'm sure they'll find someone."

"But am I just going to live here for the rest of my life?" she interrupted.

Tom wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to lie and say they would get her home. "Honestly, I don't know." He reluctantly told her. "But we're working hard on finding a way to get you home."

Noel seemed disappointed.

"In the meantime we're going to get you well." Tom told her. Just then the Doctor came back into the room, the woman right behind him.

"Noel," he said, "This is Captain Janeway." The doctor introduced the woman. "She runs this ship."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Noel." She smiled as she extended her hand. When Noel didn't reciprocate, she took it back. She looked at the doctor who nodded and the two men left.

"Sweetie," the woman said gently and sat down next to her, "I know you must be scared." She took Noel's hand into hers. "This is a lot for a girl your age to handle." No response.

"Noel," Janeway said turning Noel's head so as to look her in the eye, "I want you to know that I am doing everything possible to get you home. There's someone I know who can help and I'm going to talk to him hopefully soon."

"Alright." Noel said and hung her head again.

There was a silence but Janeway broke it. "Noel, sweetie," she said, "Can I ask you something?"

The girl shrugged.

"Why did you want to kill yourself?"

Noel looked up, alarmed by the question. She hadn't expected that they cared. She didn't want to talk about it so she shrugged again looked at her feet again.

"There must have been a reason." The woman said. Janeway suspected something, but she wanted Noel to tell her herself.

"Did something happen to you?"

"Yes." Noel whispered. She figured that if anyone she'd met so far could empathize it would be the woman. "I-I…" she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Did someone hurt you?" the woman found tears beginning to form in her eyes. Noel nodded, crystalline drops falling from her eyes onto the blue gown.

"I'm so sorry." Janeway said as she pulled the girl into a hug. Noel sobbed. No one had ever held her that way before. This was the first person she told about that night, and she didn't even have to say anything. The emotions that had built up in her since that night were finally let out. The way this woman held her reminded her of how her mother held her when she was young. She felt a bond with this woman that could only be described as a mother-daughter bond.

Notes: Well, that's all for now. I'll try to write more soon. Please review.


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